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Navigating London-Heathrow International Airport (LHR) can be a challenge even for experienced travellers. No wonder, as it's one of the world's biggest airports and a major hub for most passengers flying to and from the UK and Europe. Given its massive size transferring to connecting flights can be quite a daunting experience. We selected a few essential tips for a simple, hassle-free journey.

1. Plan ahead!

One out of every three passengers at London-Heathrow International Airport (LHR) Terminal 5 is a connecting passenger! Given its vast size and long queues at security, make sure to plan accordingly. When booking your flight, it’s essential that you schedule a connection time in LHR of at least 3 hours.

Once you have booked your flight and received your e-ticket, please use Heathrow official guide for planning your journey, as you will be able to get the most accurate information on the flight connection process. Have information on arrival/departure date and flights number ready! Input that information in required fields and you will receive a step-by-step guide to your Flight Connection.

2. Before take off:

If you have done your homework and used Heathrow official guide, you should be all set and ready to enjoy your flight. In case you did not have a chance to plan your journey ahead, no need to panic, just make sure to hold on to your connecting boarding passes! You will receive connecting boarding passes in your origin city. Please hold on to them, as you will need them for boarding on your connecting flight and they have information on which terminal you will need to go to once you land. If you do loose them, don’t despair, please visit your airline desk office and ask for assistance.

4. Once you land at LHR:

London Heathrow consists of five terminals: Terminals 1, 2 and 3, which are connected and a short walk from each other, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 (A Gate in the main terminal building, B and C Gates in separate satellite buildings).

Once you land at LHR, follow the purple signs marked "Flight Connections” they will lead you to Flight Connection point. Time required to reach it depends on which gate you landed (10-20 min). If you need help, don’t hesitate to approach staff in purple T-shirts! If your next flight is from a different terminal you will need to take a free bus to get there. To find out which terminal you need to go to, please look at your connecting boarding pass and consult information screens. Buses depart every 8 minutes or less.

5. Security screening:

Once you reach the correct terminal, you will have to pass through security screening before reaching Departure Hall. Please remember that normal rules for liquids in hand baggage apply at Security screening. You may carry duty-free liquids provided they remain sealed with the receipt inside their Security Tamper Evident Bag.

6. What about baggage?

As long as your baggage was tagged through to your final destination, follow the purple signs for "Flight Connections." In case you have arranged your own flight connection, you will need to follow arrivals, and then go to departures to check in for your onward flight. You should allow extra time for your journey!

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Passenger and Cabin Tips

Infant Travel

Infant tickets for children not reaching 24 months on the return flight typically cost up to 10% of adult fare when the infant stays in your lap or in an airline provided bassinet. On most long haul flights you can get a free bassinet for infants weighing up to 22 lbs (10kg). Bassinets may be requested on Fareboom.com at the time of booking the infant passenger using the Assistance request form. Some US carriers do not provide bassinets (Delta, American Airlines - except on Boeing 777). Better foreign carriers are typically more child friendly. On long haul flights you might consider booking infants older than 6 months as children and pay for their own seat, typically costing 70% of adult fare. You should bring your own approved car seat onboard when purchasing a child seat.

Cabin Selection

We prefer booking Premium Economy on long haul international flights when it costs up to 50% more than the lowest available coach class fare. Foreign carriers, such as British Airways, Virgin, Air New Zealand, Air France, Qantas, Eva Air, ANA and Japan Airlines are our favorites. Premium Economy has wider seats, a foot rest and slightly better service to help you get to the destination refreshed and relaxed.

For deeper pockets Business class on long haul flights is king. Ensure that you pick the right airline with lie-flat seats. Paying the Business class premium for partially reclinable seats does not make much sense so you might pick Premium Economy instead (when available).

Flight Search Tips

Multi-city and Stopover Savings

We let you see and do more for less by providing virtually free stopovers in major cities on the way to your destination. Say you are going from New York to Rome but would like to stopover in London or Paris on the cheap. Simply create three flights: 1) NYC-LON, 2) LON-ROM and 3) ROM-NYC. You can get even more creative by adding another flight stopping in Paris on the return. You may decide to see more of Italy and head north to return from Venice instead of Rome. Simply search as follows: 1) NYC-LON, 2) LON-ROM and 3) VCE-NYC. Our powerful search will try to optimize the fare to apply a single, low round trip price even when you stop at major airports or when you return from a different city than your arrival.

Five leg search tip: When you’ve got to visit many places you might find that booking four legs plus one separately is cheaper than five at once due to search limitations. Try booking up to four legs with a separate one way booking for the fifth and compare with a full five leg search to see which combination yields a better total price.

Radius Search

You likely noticed cool sliders above From/To airport selectors. They let you search for lower fares up to 175 miles around your origin or destination. This feature is especially useful when your origin or destination airport is surrounded by larger airports that might have considerably lower fares due to their size. This feature is especially useful in densely populated areas, such as within Europe where driving 100 miles to an alternate airport might mean several hundred dollars in savings. Combine Radius search with Best Value sorting on Flight Results page to ensure that the cost of driving to alternate airports is considered when picking the best flight.

When to book

This is something we get asked a lot. That’s why we developed a unique fare analysis tool called the Real Deal. Look for the orange Real Deal logo displayed with select flights. When you see it - book it, because the price will most likely not get any better. As a rule of thumb the best time to book depends on fare seasonality that is based on destination seasons. Winter is typically cheapest with summer being the most expensive, except for peak Christmas season when airlines are anything but generous with discount seats. To get the best deal you should book low season up to three months in advance and high season up to six months in advance. If you know that you need to go on a particular date in the future and want to play it safe book up to eight months in advance. If you don’t really care about specific dates wait a bit longer and look out for the Real Deal right here on Fareboom.com – it just doesn’t get any better.